(Ivanhoe Newswire) – Mothers' health in the days and weeks prior to
conception may determine the offspring’s health much later in life, according to
a group of new studies. These studies demonstrate maternal nutrition, protein
intake and level of fat in the diet may cause changes in the developing fetus
that can have long-term health consequences.
The time between ovulation and conception may be a critical one for maternal and
fetal health, according to Kelle Moley, M.D., Washington University School of
Medicine. In mouse studies, she found that subtle differences in maternal
metabolism had long-lasting effects. Indeed, when Dr. Moley transferred embryos
from a diabetic mouse into a non-diabetic mouse shortly after egg implantation,
she noted neural tube defects, heart defects, limb deformities and growth
defects in the offspring of the diabetic mouse. Dr. Moley says these findings
indicate a need to re-direct our ideas about maternal health to the time prior
to pregnancy.
Are we encouraging pregnant women to take vitamins when it may be too late to
impact the health of a growing fetus? According to Kevin Sinclair, Ph.D.,
University of Nottingham, maternal nutrition at the time of conception can alter
fetal development. In studies with sheep and rodents, he found that offspring of
mothers with vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiencies were fatter, became insulin
resistant and had higher blood pressure by the time they reached middle-age,
demonstrating that early molecular changes may not manifest themselves for many
years.
Low protein levels in female mice during the first few moments of conception,
when the egg is still dividing, caused abnormal growth, cardiovascular disease,
high blood pressure and jumpy behavior in their offspring. According to Tom
Fleming, Ph.D., University of Southampton, mice born to mothers with low protein
grew bigger – extracting as much nutrient as they could to compensate for poor
nutrition while in the womb.
According to epigenetic theory, environmental factors can impact the expression
of genes, causing changes in the genome at any time. One of the most critical
periods is early life, when epigenetic memories are created that may impact a
person's susceptibility to disease later in life, Shuk-mei Ho, Ph.D., University
of Cincinnati Medical Center was quoted as saying. According to her research,
these "memories" may remain dormant until an environmental trigger brings them
to the surface, modifying risk for disease.
SOURCE: Studies presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of
Reproduction, July 18 – 22, 2009, Pittsburgh, PA
